


Romantic extract from The Last Beginning

by Laurenjames



Series: The Next Together series [12]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21760468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurenjames/pseuds/Laurenjames
Summary: A short extract from The Last Beginning to celebrate Valentine's day!***The Last Beginning is a published Young Adult novel, available to buy now.  This sample contains only a short extract.***Sixteen years ago, after a scandal that rocked the world, teenagers Katherine and Matthew vanished without a trace. Now Clove Sutcliffe is determined to find her long lost relatives...But where do you start looking for a couple who seem to have been reincarnated at every key moment in history? Who were Kate and Matt? Why were they born again and again? And who is the mysterious Ella, who keeps appearing at every turn in Clove's investigation?For Clove, there is a mystery to solve in the past and a love to find in the future.
Relationships: Clove Sutcliffe/Ella Walker
Series: The Next Together series [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145318





	Romantic extract from The Last Beginning

C a r l i s l e , E n g l a n d , 1 7 4 5

When Clove finally went back downstairs, Mrs Samson scolded her for disappearing halfway through making breakfast and put Clove to work in the wash-house doing laundry.

"Did you find the ingredients which you need for your spell?" Ella asked, as she arrived an hour later with another load of dirty clothes for Clove. She dipped a hand into Clove's bucket of fresh water and flicked her with it. Clove leapt back, but the freezing cold water still splashed her arm.

Hey!" she said, trying to be serious, but she couldn't help the way her mouth just wanted to smile. She ducked her head, giving in to the urge to grin.

When she looked back up, Ella's expression took her by surprise. She looked ... awestruck. Like she couldn't believe what she was seeing, when what she was seeing was Clove. Just Clove. No one had ever looked at her like that before.

"What?" Clove asked, a little defensively.

"Nothing," Ella said. "It's just... I've never seen you smile before." She sounded winded.  
Clove swallowed hard, her laughter dying in her throat.

It was true that she had been very stressed recently. But surely she had smiled before? She couldn't remember, right now, when Ella was looking at her like that.

Flustered, Clove flicked her hand into the water. Ella skittered away and let out a giggle.

Clove chased her out of the wash-house and across the lawn. But by the time she had cornered the girl by the kitchen door, all that was left of her attack was two damp palms. She pressed them to either side of Ella's neck as she tried to squirm away.

Ella winced at the coldness of the water on her skin. The two girls were standing so close that Clove could see droplets of water clinging to Ella's collarbone and the goosebumps standing up on her neck. Ella's cap had come off and her hair was falling out of its bun again, messy spirals curling off in all directions.

There was a moment when they just stared at each other, breathing in unison. Clove felt like every molecule of her skin was alert and attuned to Ella's movements.

Something had snapped their bickering into a meaningful tension. She parted her lips. If she just leant a little closer, if Ella just tilted her head a little to the right, then—

Ella stepped back. Then she lifted her arm, holding up Clove's bucket of water – which she must have grabbed before running out of the wash-house. Clove didn't have time to react before the water fell through the air in an iridescent arc, splashing Clove right in the chest. It was so cold that Clove couldn't catch her breath to speak, and when she did all that escaped was helpless laughter.

"Ella!" she gasped.

Ella was laughing so hard she nearly fell over. "Yes!" she screeched. "Got you!"

"I'm soaking wet!" Clove's bodice was drenched, and her skirts were rapidly darkening as the water spread.

"I'm going to throw you in the pond," Clove threatened, tugging the damp fabric away from her skin.

Ella only laughed harder. "You look like a drowned cat! All bedraggled and furious."

Clove hissed at her, baring her teeth like an angry feline. "If I get a chill and die, it'll be all your fault." Clove held a hand to her forehead, letting out an overly long groan of pain, which turned into laughter when Ella jabbed her in the ribs.

"I think you will recover, Miss Tabbycat," Ella said.

"Especially as the last time you were dying you managed to wander off and escape me."

"The salad days," Clove muttered, sighing to herself and leaning into Ella's side.

Ella tightened her arm around Clove's shoulder.

FIN.


End file.
